Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error Arsenic and Old Lace ( 1944 ) Not Rated | A drama critic learns on his wedding day that his beloved maiden aunts are homicidal maniacs, and that insanity runs in his family. Director: From $2.99 (SD) on Amazon Video ON DISC a list of 48 titles created 16 Sep 2013 a list of 47 titles created 26 May 2014 a list of 48 titles created 04 Aug 2014 a list of 28 titles created 11 months ago a list of 29 titles created 3 weeks ago Title: Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) 8.1/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin.

When a rich woman's ex-husband and a tabloid-type reporter turn up just before her planned remarriage, she begins to learn the truth about herself. Director: George Cukor A newspaper editor uses every trick in the book to keep his ace reporter ex-wife from remarrying. Director: Howard Hawks Due to his insistence that he has an invisible six foot-tall rabbit for a best friend, a whimsical middle-aged man is thought by his family to be insane - but he may be wiser than anyone knows. Director: Henry Koster Romance and suspense ensue in Paris as a woman is pursued by several men who want a fortune her murdered husband had stolen. Who can she trust? Director: Stanley Donen A man from a family of rich snobs becomes engaged to a woman from a good-natured but decidedly eccentric family. Director: Frank Capra 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.9/10 X A young man falls in love with a girl from a rich family.

His unorthodox plan to go on holiday for the early years of his life is met with skepticism by everyone except for his fiancée's eccentric sister and long-suffering brother. Director: George Cukor A naive man is appointed to fill a vacancy in the United States Senate. His plans promptly collide with political corruption, but he doesn't back down. Director: Frank Capra A woman is asked to spy on a group of Nazi friends in South America. How far will she have to go to ingratiate herself with them? Director: Alfred Hitchcock Unfounded suspicions lead a married couple to begin divorce proceedings, whereupon they start undermining each other's attempts to find new romance. Director: Leo McCarey A spoiled heiress running away from her family is helped by a man who is actually a reporter in need of a story. Director: Frank Capra In Africa during World War I, a gin-swilling riverboat captain is persuaded by a strait-laced missionary to use his boat to attack an enemy warship. Director: John Huston Longfellow Deeds, a simple-hearted Vermont tuba player, inherits a fortune and has to contend with opportunist city slickers.

Director: Frank Capra Edit Storyline Mortimer Brewster is a newspaperman and author known for his diatribes against marriage. We watch him being married at city hall in the opening scene. Now all that is required is a quick trip home to tell Mortimer's two maiden aunts. While trying to break the news, he finds out his aunts' hobby; killing lonely old men and burying them in the cellar. It gets worse. Written by John Vogel <jlvogel@comcast.net> Strike. You're out! See more » Genres: 23 September 1944 (USA) See more » Also Known As: Frank Capra's 'Arsenic and Old Lace' See more » Filming Locations: Did You Know? Trivia Alberta Gary , Joan Leslie , Juanita Stark and Vera Lewis are in studio records/casting call lists for this movie, but they did not appear or were not identifiable. See more » Goofs When Mortimer first thinks of calling Judge Cullman, he raises his left arm. In the next shot, his right arm is raised.

See more » Quotes Sing With All the Saints in Glory (uncredited) Music by Ludwig van Beethoven (as Ludwig von Beethoven) Performed by the Aunts (Ohio) – See all my reviews For those who enjoy dark comedy, it's hard to see how anything could be funnier than "Arsenic and Old Lace". With Cary Grant's talent for madcap comedy, with hilariously sinister performances by Raymond Massey and Peter Lorre, with two adorable old ladies who have a very dark secret, plus half-a-dozen other eccentric characters, all involved in a complicated and unpredictable plot, this is a comic masterpiece. Director Frank Capra keeps everything moving and adds his own touch, keeping some dark material entirely light-hearted. This is the kind of movie for which mere analysis cannot do justice to how well everything fits together. The characters, cast, and writing are all perfect, and the crazy story gives every character some great moments. There is plenty of witty dialogue, lots of funny slapstick and physical humor, and quite a few wild plot developments. None of it is meant to be plausible, but it is all hugely entertaining, and done with such skill that it is easy to suspend disbelief.

If you happen not to have seen this before, stick with it for the first few minutes, until you arrive at the home of Cary Grant's two aunts, and then things will take off quickly. If you enjoy morbid humor, "Arsenic and Old Lace" is an absolute must-see. 73 of 80 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes Film - Arsenic And Old Lace - Into Film Arsenic And Old Lace Home | Films | Explore Films | Arsenic And Old Lace (1944) Mortimer Brewster (played by Cary Grant) gets a nasty shock when he drops in on a pair of elderly aunts in this spooky but brilliantly funny black comedy. Dotty spinsters Abby and Martha Brewster are pillars of the local community - but they're also serial killers who love nothing more than to poison lonely old gentlemen callers with their homebrewed elderberry wine and then bury the bodies in their basement. Director Frank Capra balances the quick-fire gags and Gothic chills with a masterly touch. Clubs provide opportunities to watch, review and make films.

Start a film club today Director/s Friday Film Review: Arsenic and Old Lace Friday Film Review: Arsenic and Old Lace Arsenic and Old Lace (made 1942, released 1944) Genre: Screwball Comedy Grade: B “This is developing into a very bad habit!” – Mortimer Brewster I had always heard great things about “Arsenic and Old Lace,” but the first time I sat down and tried to watch this film years ago my reaction was a rip roaring “meh.” After that, I raised an “yeah, right” eyebrow whenever I saw people gushing about how fabulous and wonderful it is. But if nothing else, doing these movie reviews has gotten me to (re) watch a whole lot of movies I never thought I would and searching for this year’s Halloween entry coincided with a broadcast of the film on TCM. With nothing, including even an Netflix rental fee, to lose I set my DVD-R then finally discovered why people love it so much.

Mortimer Brewster (Cary Grant) and Elaine Harper (Priscilla Lane) have just gotten married and stopped off at their respective houses – which are just across an old cemetery from each other – to pick up some things before heading to their honeymoon at Niagara Falls. Mortimer has been raised by his two eccentric aunts Abby (Josephine Hull) and Martha (Jean Adair) along with their brother (John Alexander) who thinks he’s Teddy Roosevelt, blows a trumpet and charges up the staircase like it’s San Juan Hill. To his horror, Mortimer discovers that there’s a dead body in the window seat and assumes that delusional Teddy has killed someone. But Mortimer is flabbergasted when Abby and Martha calmly tell him that they killed the gentleman as well as eleven other older men. They see it as a charity to end what they see as the suffering of lonely old bachelors and use elderberry wine spiked with arsenic, strychnine and “just a pinch of cyanide.” A stunned Mortimer muses that the wine probably tastes pretty good. Teddy always buries the bodies in the basement assuming that they are yellow fever victims from the building of the Panama Canal.

Frantic to save Teddy from any charges, Mortimer tries to get the papers that will get him committed to a sanitarium in the care of Mr. Witherspoon (Edward Everett Horton) and fobs off an increasingly irate Elaine as to when they’ll leave for their honeymoon. But wait, things are about to get worse. Mortimer’s psychotic brother Jonathan (Raymond Massey) then shows up with his alcoholic plastic surgeon sidekick Dr. Herman Einstein (Peter Lorre) looking for a hideout until Einstein can finish altering Jonathan’s face so he no longer resembles Boris Karloff. Oh, and also dispose of Jonathan’s latest victim, a Mr. Spenalzo. Can Mortimer get Teddy committed – the neighbors are complaining about the trumpet blowing, keep his aunts from killing any more nice, old men and out of jail, get Jonathon and Einstein out of the house, keep Elaine from getting a divorce before the wedding night and keep the police from finding out everything? The main reason I didn’t like the movie the first time is Grant’s OTT performance.

Since then, I’ve come to appreciate screwball comedies in general and the fact that sane Mortimer is the one going crazy while his crazy relatives are calm and collected. While everyone else acts like there’s nothing wrong, it’s an increasingly frantic Mortimer who has to juggle all these plot threads and keep the movie from spinning out of control. I still think he’s slightly crazed at times but that’s the nature of the film. Hull and Adair are darling as the doting, dotty but lethal ladies of the Brewster family. I love Aunt Abby’s feather ruffled outrage at Mr. Spenalzo (a foreigner!”) in her window seat as well as how mad she and Martha are when Einstein puts Spenalzo in the same grave with good Methodist Mr. Hoskins. Raymond Massey is menacing as brother Jonathan with his black bag full of gulp inducing instruments. Lorre is hilarious as the schnapps swilling doctor who tries to keep Jonathan from killing his own family (“No! Not the Melbourne method, please! Two hours!”) I don’t care as much for Lane as Elaine. She looks too much like Ginger Rogers and I keep expecting to see Rogers in her place.

But she’s adequate in the role. There are several wonderful actors in secondary roles including Horton doing his usual slightly prissy routine, James Gleason as the harried police lieutenant dealing with beat cop Jack Carson. I can’t recall ever seeing Alexander before but he does a great T.R. impersonation. Also watch for the long suffering taxi driver played by Garry Owen. Director Frank Capra manages to present the story without showing any dead bodies or much violence. Instead he uses shadows, noise, music, Jonathan’s awful looking instruments and Peter Lorre’s actions and reactions to instill apprehension and infer the fight scene without having to be graphic. With the Hays Code in effect I did wonder at the aunts actually getting away with murder but they do end up in a position where they won’t be able to continue their charitable work and, after all, Jonathan’s crimes are so much worse. When watching the scenes of unsuspecting Mortimer, and later the police officer, talking about danger while all the while the danger their describing perfectly mirrors the actual danger sneaking up behind them, remember that this started out as a Broadway play and this would probably have played especially well on stage.

Boris Karloff was also playing Jonathan in the play hence the jokes about Jonathan looking “kind of like Boris Karloff.” I am an “Arsenic and Old Lace” convert now. I will anticipate the sequence of Einstein and Jonathan bringing Mr. Spenalzo through the window (“Wait a minute, Johnny. You lost a leg somewhere.”) As well, the hilarious “contest” between the Aunts and Jonathan as to who has killed more people. (“No, no, Johnny. You cannot count him. You got twelve, they got twelve. The old ladies is just as good as you are!’) But most of all, I will enjoy it for the things Capra managed – tension mixed with laughs and murders without ever seeing more than the shadow of a dead body. B “Oh, don’t worry about Halloween. The pixies won’t be out till after midnight.” – Mortimer Brewster ~Jayne Detail view of Movies Page Summary: After overcoming an attack of pre-nuptial nerves, Mortimer Brewster, New York theatrical critic, confirmed bachelor and author of millions of words against marriage, weds Elaine Harper, a minister's daughter, on Halloween Day.

On their way to their Niagara Falls honeymoon, Mortimer and Elaine stop in Brooklyn, where Elaine's father lives next to Mortimer's two maiden aunts and uncle. While Elaine breaks the news of her marriage to her conservative father, Mortimer drops in on his aunts, Abby and Martha. In his aunts' living room, Mortimer searches for notes on his latest book, Mind Over Matrimony , and discovers a corpse in his aunts' window seat. Immediately Mortimer assumes that his deranged uncle, who believes himself to be Teddy Roosevelt, is responsible. To his horror, however, Abby and Martha calmly take credit for murdering Mr. Hoskins and later confess to killing not only Mr. Hoskins but eleven other men, all of whom are now buried in the cellar. Stricken by the story of his aunts' murderous past, which began when an elderly visitor suffered a fatal heart attack in their parlor and inspired them with his peaceful repose, Mortimer tries to point out the error of their killing ways. Instead, Abby and Martha insist that luring lonely men into their home with a "room for rent" sign and serving them elderberry wine laced with arsenic and other poisons is a charitable service.

While Mortimer frantically tries to have his uncle, whose lunacy is well-known in Brooklyn, committed to a sanitarium as a means of clearing his aunts of any future blame, Gibbs, another would-be renter, arrives at the house. After preventing Gibbs from taking the fatal sip of elderberry wine, Mortimer leaves to see Judge Cullman, whose signature he needs for "Teddy's" commitment papers. In his absence, Mortimer's criminally insane brother Jonathan, recently escaped from an Indiana asylum, and Dr. Einstein, a drunken underworld plastic surgeon, show up unexpectedly at the house. Unknown to the aunts, Jonathan, whose face Dr. Einstein accidentally altered to resemble Boris Karloff's, has brought along his own murder victim, Mr. Spenalzo. Against his sisters' wishes, Teddy, who has been told by Abby and Martha that Mr. Hoskins, like their other victims, is a yellow fever casualty and must be buried immediately in a "lock" of the "Panama Canal," invites Dr. Einstein to inspect his newly dug hole in the cellar. Dr. Einstein concludes that the "lock" would be an ideal resting place for Mr.

Spenalzo, and after Jonathan forces his aunts to retire early, the two criminals move Mr. Spenalzo into the living room, just as Teddy carries Mr. Hoskins to the cellar. Before Jonathan and Dr. Einstein are able to get Mr. Spenalzo into the basement, however, Elaine shows up, forcing them to deposit the corpse in the now vacant window seat. The ever paranoid Jonathan then tries to drag Elaine to the cellar but is stopped by the return of Mortimer. Oblivious to Elaine's distress over Jonathan, Mortimer sends her back home, then after failing to intimidate Jonathan into leaving, finds Mr. Spenalzo's body in the window seat. Although Mortimer first accuses Abby of the deed, Jonathan reveals himself as the culprit when he rushes to sit on the window seat as his aunts are about to open it. Before Mortimer is able to act on his discovery, O'Hara, the new neighborhood policeman, arrives at the door. On the promise that he will discuss O'Hara's autobiographical play with him later that night, Mortimer rids himself of the policeman, but then is confronted by Dr. Einstein, who, while disposing of Mr.

Spenalzo's body, stumbled on Mr. Hoskins' corpse in his cellar grave. After Jonathan and his aunts argue about who has the more impressive murder record, Mortimer obtains the second needed signature for Teddy's commitment papers from Dr. Gilchrist and confesses to a confused Elaine about his family's insanity. Determined to do away with his brother, Jonathan ties up and gags Mortimer and is about to kill him when O'Hara returns, having received complaints about Teddy's noisy bugle calls. Seeing Mortimer bound and gagged, O'Hara proceeds to recite the action of his play, while Jonathan lies behind him, unconscious from an accidental blow by Dr. Einstein. When Jonathan revives, he assumes that O'Hara and his partner Brophy are after him and unwittingly reveals that he is a fugitive. Eventually O'Hara's superior, Lieutenant Rooney, shows up and listens in disbelief as Jonathan and his aunts tell him matter-of-factly about the thirteen dead men in the cellar. After Jonathan is arrested and Dr. Einstein slips away, Mr.

Witherspoon of the Happy Dale Sanitarium comes for Teddy, only to hear that Martha and Abby, who are anxious to stay near their brother, want to go, too. Just before parting, Abby reveals to Mortimer that he is not really their next of kin but is the adopted son of a sea cook. Overjoyed, Mortimer rushes to tell Elaine, who has since discovered Mr. Spenalzo and Mr. Hoskins for herself, the good news about his parentage and to resume at last their honeymoon plans. Production Company: Wine and wine making Note: Although this film was made in late 1941, it was not released until Sep 1944 because of a contractual obligation between Warner Bros. and the producers of the Broadway show, in which Warner Bros. agreed not to release the film until the end of the stage play's run. According to Warner Bros. press releases, Warner executive Hal B. Wallis outbid "every major film company" in Feb 1941 for the rights to Kesselring's play. Warner Bros. studio records included in the Warner Bros.

collection at the USC Cinema-Television Archives reveal that the rights cost $175,000, and that theatrical producers Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse negotiated for 15% of the film's profits. Although the original projected release date of the film was 30 Sep 1942, the play had 1,444 performances and ran for over three and a half years, thus delaying considerably the film's release. Josephine Hull, Jean Adair and John Alexander re-created their Broadway stage roles for this picture. Upon completion of their film duties, the actors then returned to the play. Although not cast in the film, Boris Karloff originated the role of "Jonathan" on the stage. According to modern sources, Karloff volunteered to stay with the play to appease Crouse and Lindsay, who were concerned that the loss of all of their stars at one time would hurt their ticket sales. Studio records indicate that Warner Bros. suggested Humphrey Bogart to Lindsay and Crouse as a possible stage replacement for Karloff, but apparently the deal was never pursued.

During filming, Karloff signed an agreement allowing the use of his name and likeness in the picture, a legal matter that greatly concerned Warner Bros. executives. In the spring of 1941, French film director René Clair saw the Broadway production of Arsenic and Old Lace and approached Lindsay and Crouse about directing the film. Lindsay and Crouse then communicated Clair's interest to Warner Bros., but it is not known if the studio ever seriously considered Clair for the job. Modern sources claim that Capra originally wanted Bob Hope for the role of "Mortimer," but Hope was not available. According to studio records, Warner Bros. borrowed Cary Grant from Columbia for the production. Grant's total salary was $160,000. As per Grant's instructions, $50,000 of that money went to the Hollywood Division of the British War Relief Association of Southern California, $25,000 went to the American Red Cross, $25,000 went the United Service Organization, and $10,000 was paid to Grant's agent. Capra received $100,000 for his services.

Hull and Adair were each paid $10,000, Lorre received $13,000 and Massey, $25,000. Studio records additionally record the following information about the production: For the film, the Epsteins expanded the role of "Mortimer" to accommodate Grant's star status and also added a few scenes, including an Ebbets Field baseball riot, to the beginning of the story. Prior to production, the script was submitted to the PCA for approval. According to files in the MPAA/PCA Collection at the AMPAS Library, the PCA advised Warner Bros. research head Dr. Herman Lissauer to play down the newlyweds' "sex frustration," which was evident, in their opinion, in certain lines and bits of business. In addition, the PCA strongly suggested that all references to actual poisons, with the exception of arsenic, be eliminated from the script, as an actual "recipe" for a toxic additive might be replicated by unstable viewers. Some of the PCA's advice was taken, while other suggestions were ignored without apparent ramifications. Throughout most of the production, the script was being re-written by the Epstein brothers.

Contrary to some modern sources, which state that the film was shot in four weeks, the proposed shooting period was eight weeks, and actual filming took nine weeks. (In his autobiography, Capra claims that he submitted a budget to Warner Bros. studio head Jack L. Warner that was based on a four-week shooting schedule, but no evidence that Warner Bros.

ever seriously considered filming the project in that time has been found.) In a memorandum to an executive at Warner Bros., unit manager Eric Stacey described Capra's directing methods to explain why, in part, the production fell behind schedule: "He times his work so that the last thing in the day he will stage, and photograph, [is] a master long shot of a sequence; then the following morning at 8:00 o'clock when he sees his dailies of the previous day's work, he will continue in that sequence and make changes while he is shooting closer shots of the same action, and as ideas develop he will sometimes go back and make close-ups again, having the character read a different line, or have the character do a different piece of business." On 1 Nov 1941, a decision was made to shoot all of the Brewster house interiors, the bulk of the story, in sequence. Production records indicate that some scenes, such as ones in Mortimer's grandfather's laboratory, in the Brewster cellar, and in the aunts' bedroom, were shot but not used in the final film. Modern sources note that a scene at the end of the story, in which "Mr.

Witherspoon," played by Edward Everett Horton, becomes the aunts' last victim, was shot and included in preview prints of the film. Because of poor audience reaction to the screen demise of the popular character actor, however, the scene was removed from release prints. Publicity items from 1944 state that Massey's makeup, which was the subject of much debate during the production, required two hours to apply and two hours to remove. The production ended a few days after the United States' entry into World War II. According to a 13 Dec 1941 NYT article on Capra, earlier in the year, he had applied for a commission with the Signal Corps. Shortly after finishing Arsenic and Old Lace , he assumed his duties as a major and made no other commercial films until 1946's It's a Wonderful Life , which he produced after his release from the service. Warner Bros.

press releases boasted that the set for Arsenic and Old Lace was the largest ever constructed at the studio, and that the house was "complete in every detail, room by room." Because of strict movie censorship rules, the word "bastard," which is used in the stage play in a key line at the end, was not included in the screenplay. In his autobiography, Capra credited Jesse Hibbs (not Russ Saunders) as the assistant director. Capra also notes that while he was stationed in London in 1943, he overheard American and British soldiers screaming "Charge!" in the manner of the "Teddy Roosevelt" character and deduced that they had seen the film. He then learned that Jack L. Warner had released the picture to the armed forces a year before it was to be released to the general public. An AMPAS notice indicates that Arsenic and Old Lace was not given Academy Award consideration for the fourteenth, fifteenth or sixteenth annual awards because of its 1944 release date. DV lists the film's preview running time as 97 minutes, but this time is most likely an error.

In Nov 1946, Karloff played "Jonathan" in an abbreviated CBS radio version of Kesselring's play. Arsenic and Old Lace was produced on television four times: the first broadcast on CBS in 1945 starred Josephine Hull and Boris Karloff; Karloff and John Alexander reprised their roles for a 1955 CBS broadcast, which also starred Helen Hayes, Orson Bean and Billie Burke; in 1962, a third version, which starred Karloff, Tony Randall and Mildred Natwick, was broadcast on NBC; Hayes reprised her 1955 role for a fourth broadcast on ABC in 1969, which also starred Lillian Gish, Fred Gwynne and Bob Crane. Bibliographic Sources: View All Photos (4) Movie Info Arsenic and Old Lace is director Frank Capra's spin on the classic Joseph Kesselring stage comedy, which concerns the sweet old Brewster sisters (Josephine Hull, Jean Adair), beloved in their genteel Brooklyn neighborhood for their many charitable acts.

One charity which the ladies don't advertise is their ongoing effort to permit lonely bachelors to die with smiles on their faces--by serving said bachelors elderberry wine spiked with arsenic. When the sisters' drama-critic nephew Mortimer (Cary Grant) stumbles onto their secret, he is understandably put out--especially since he has just married the lovely Elaine Harper (Priscilla Lane). Given the homicidal tendencies of his aunts, the sinister activities of his escaped-convict older brother Jonathan (Raymond Massey) and the disruptive behavior of younger brother Teddy (John Alexander)--who is convinced that he's really Theodore Roosevelt, and runs around the house yelling "CHAAAAARGGGE"--Mortimer isn't keen on starting a family with his new bride. "Insanity runs in my family," he explains. "It practically gallops." Further complications ensue when the murderous Jonathan Brewster arrives home, with his snivelling accomplice Dr. Einstein (Peter Lorre) in tow. When Jonathan learns that his darling aunts have killed twelve men, he is incensed--they're challenging his own record of murders.

Though the movie rights for Arsenic and Old Lace were set up so that the film could not be released until 1944, director Capra shot the film quickly and inexpensively in 1941, so that his family could subsist on his $100,000 salary while he was serving in World War II. Rating: Literature Resource Center -- Title Search Results Arsenic and Old Lace, by Joseph Kesselring Author: Joseph (Otto) Kesselring (1902-1967) also known as: Joseph Kesselring and Joseph Otto Kesselring Date: 1941 Introduction In 1941, New Yorkers were looking for some entertainment to take their minds off of the war in Europe and the growing fear that America would be pulled into it. On January 10, Broadway gave them exactly what they were looking for in the form of a hilarious new play by Joseph Kesselring, Arsenic and Old Lace. The play became an immediate critical and popular success, running for 1,444 performances.

It also became a hit in England in 1942 as theatergoers who were suffering through London post-blitz lined up for tickets. In 1944, Hollywood produced a film version staring Cary Grant that became a huge box office success. The play, a clever combination of the farcical and the macabre, centers on two elderly sisters who are famous in their Brooklyn neighborhood for their numerous acts of charity. Unfortunately, however, their charity includes poisoning lonely old men who come to their home looking for lodging. The two women are assisted in their crimes by their mentally challenged nephew who believes he is Teddy Roosevelt and who frequently blasts a bugle and yells "charge" as he bounds up the stairs. Matters get complicated when a second nephew, a theater critic, discovers the murders and a third nephew appears after having just escaped from a mental institution. In his adroit mixture of comedy and mayhem, Kesselring satirizes the charitable impulse as he pokes fun at the conventions of the theater. Plot Act 1 Arsenic and Old Lace takes place entirely in the Brewster home in Brooklyn, New York, in 1941.

As the play opens, Abby Brewster, a sweet, elderly woman is pouring tea for her nephew Teddy and Dr. Harper, a local minister. All note how peaceful the house is, far removed from the war in Europe. They discuss their nephew Mortimer, a theater critic, and his relationship with the minister's daughter Elaine. Two neighborhood policemen, Brophy and Klein, arrive to pick up toys for the local Christmas fund. Teddy asks them what news they have brought him. After saluting him, Brophy responds, "Colonel, we have nothing to report." We later learn that Teddy thinks that he is Teddy Roosevelt, a delusion that family and friends accept. As Teddy draws an imaginary sword, yells "charge" and bounds up the stairs, the others pay no attention. The men discuss how charitable Abby and her sister Martha are. Brophy admonishes Teddy after he blows a bugle call, noting that he used to do that in the middle of the night. The officers discuss the Brewster family's history of mental illness. Martha arrives and helps Abby gather the toys for the officers, who soon depart. Dr.

Harper asks the sisters to make sure that Teddy signs admittance papers to Happy Dale Sanitarium, where he will go after their death. After the reverend leaves, Abby tells a delighted Teddy that he needs to go to Panama and dig another lock for the canal. Martha is also elated by the news, but at this point, the audience is not given the details of the situation. Elaine arrives looking for Mortimer, who soon appears. They discuss the play they will be seeing that night and casually flirt with each other. Their talk turns more serious as they discuss getting married, and Mortimer insists that they should not wait more than a month. Elaine promises to talk it over with her father and to set a date. After warmly greeting Teddy, Mortimer informs Elaine that he has a brother Jonathan about whom the family does not like to talk. After Elaine leaves, Mortimer tells his aunts about his marriage plans, which elates them. As he searches for a chapter of a book that he is writing, Mortimer looks in the window seat and finds a dead body. He immediately assumes that Teddy has committed the crime and so tells the aunts that they must send him to Happy Dale at once.

When Mortimer gently breaks the news of the body to his aunts, they insist he should "just forget about it," and later explain that the man drank poisoned wine that Abby had given him. The aunts are quite nonchalant about the incident as Mortimer's agitation increases. They try unsuccessfully to reassure him with their explanation that they will bury the body in the cellar with the eleven others they also poisoned. All were lonely old men who came to their home looking for lodging. Taking pity on them, the aunts decided to help each of them find peace. Elaine soon returns excited about the wedding plans, but Mortimer tells her that something has come up and she should go home and wait for him. She leaves, confused and angry at Mortimer's peculiar behavior. When an elderly man, Mr. Gibbs, rings the bell looking for lodging, the two aunts quiz him on his background and present situation. As they prepare the wine for Mr. Gibbs, Mortimer, pours himself a glass while talking on the phone to his editor. When he realizes that the wine is poisoned, he screams, which causes Mr. Gibbs to run out of the house. The sisters are crestfallen.

Before Mortimer rushes out to review a play, he makes the aunts promise not to do anything until he gets back, including burying the body. They agree, but have no clue as to why Mortimer is acting so strangely. After Mortimer leaves, Jonathan arrives with Dr. Einstein. When the aunts do not recognize their nephew, he explains that Dr. Einstein has surgically altered his face. After Jonathan proves his identity, he tells them that he has come from Chicago where he and the doctor were in business. As the two obviously agitated aunts retreat into the kitchen, Einstein asks Jonathan what they should do, noting that the police are after them for murder and that they have a dead body in the car. Jonathan admits that he killed Mr. Spenalzo because the man said he looked like Boris Karloff after Einstein's surgery. When the aunts return, they tell Jonathan that he must leave, reminding him that he was never happy in the house. Jonathan, however, convinces them to allow the two to stay for dinner.

When Jonathan discovers that his grandfather's laboratory is still upstairs, he determines that the house will provide a perfect operating room for Einstein to work on his face as well as those of other criminals who need disguises. Jonathan assures Einstein that the aunts will not be able to prevent them from staying. The act closes when the two men are startled by Teddy's bugle blast and charge up the stairs. Act 2 After dinner, the aunts renew their efforts to get Jonathan to leave, but he warns them how "disagreeable" he had been as a child and that "it wouldn't be pleasant for any of [them]" if they tried to prevent him from staying. He informs the aunts of his plans for his grandfather's laboratory, which they immediately reject. They do agree, however, to let him stay for the night. During this conversation, Einstein has gone with Teddy down into the basement to "inspect the locks in Panama." When he comes back up stairs, Einstein informs Jonathan that he has found a place to bury Mr. Spenalzo, explaining that Teddy has dug a hole in the basement. While Jonathan and Einstein move their car to the back of the house, the aunts decide they will bury Mr.

Hoskins, who is still in the window seat, as soon as the two men have gone to bed. When the house is quiet, Teddy brings the body down into the basement. Soon after, Jonathan and Einstein bring in Mr. Spenalzo's body and put it in the window seat when they hear Elaine knocking at the door. She assumes the two are robbers until Jonathan informs her of his identity. Thinking that she saw the two bring in the dead body, Jonathan forces her into the cellar. Her screams bring down the aunts, who are dressed for Mr. Hoskins's funeral. Elaine escapes just as Mortimer arrives. Jonathan and Mortimer quarrel until the aunts insist that they all settle down for the evening. Later when Elaine demands to know what is going on in the house, Mortimer informs her that they cannot marry because insanity runs in his family. When he looks in the window seat and sees Mr. Spenalzo's body instead of Mr. Hoskins's, he talks Elaine into going home. The aunts are quite confused about the identity of the new body in the window seat. When Mortimer realizes that the body is connected with Jonathan, he tries to blackmail his brother into leaving.

Jonathan refuses to leave and threatens Mortimer with the same fate as that of Mr. Spenalzo. At that moment Officer O'Hara arrives, concerned about the lights on so late at night. Mortimer, happy to see the officer, convinces him to stay until Jonathan leaves. O'Hara is pleased to do so since this will give him the opportunity to discuss the play he has been writing. When Jonathan discovers Mr. Hoskins's body in the cellar and threatens to tell O'Hara, Mortimer convinces the officer that he will meet him later to discuss the play. The aunts admit to Jonathan that they have twelve bodies in the basement. The news hurts Jonathan's pride as Einstein points out that the aunts have murdered the same number of men as Jonathan has. As a result, Jonathan determines that he will kill Mortimer and so tip the scale in his favor. Act 3 Later that night, as Jonathan and Einstein are burying Mr. Spenalzo with Mr. Hoskins in the cellar, Mortimer arrives with a doctor's signature on Teddy's commitment papers. He explains to the aunts that he can protect them only if he lets Teddy take the blame for the murders.

They threaten to go to the police if Mortimer does not find a way to get rid of Jonathan in the morning. Jonathan tells Einstein to get his medical instruments as he plans Mortimer's slow, painful death. After they bind and gag Mortimer, they pour two glasses of poisoned wine. Just as they are about to drink, Teddy blasts his bugle, and they drop the glasses, spilling the wine. As he is passing the house, Officer O'Hara hears the blast and comes in to complain. Einstein explains that Mortimer is tied up because he was demonstrating what happened in a play he saw that evening. O'Hara decides not to untie Mortimer so that he will be forced to listen to the officer's summary of his play. By morning, O'Hara is coming to the end of his summary when Brophy and Klein arrive, looking for him. They announce that their lieutenant is determined to send Teddy away to Happy Dale because of all the complaints he is getting about the bugle blast in the middle of the night. Jonathan wakes up, sees the officers, and mistakenly thinks he has been caught. When Klein mentions that he looks like Boris Karloff, Jonathan goes for his throat but is knocked unconscious by Brophy.

Lieutenant Rooney then arrives and recognizes Jonathan as a wanted criminal and an escapee from an insane asylum. None of the officers believe Jonathan when he insists that thirteen bodies are buried in the basement. Soon after Mortimer tells the Lieutenant that he has Teddy's commitment papers, Elaine and Mr. Witherspoon, the superintendent of Happy Dale, arrive. Mortimer tells Elaine to "run along home" until he calls her, but she refuses to leave. Teddy agrees to go with Witherspoon, who he thinks will be his guide on an expedition to Africa. When the aunts insist that if Teddy goes to Happy Dale, they must go too, Mortimer agrees as does the lieutenant after they begin to talk about bodies in the cellar. After the aunts' commitment papers are signed, they express concern over the validity of the signatures. They decide to tell Mortimer the truth--that he is not a Brewster. They explain that his mother was their cook and that he was born out of wedlock. Mortimer and Elaine are delighted at the news and leave for her house to get breakfast. The officers arrest Einstein and Jonathan, who is content that the aunts will not be able to best his murder record.

After they depart, the aunts quiz Mr. Witherspoon about his background and learn that he has no family. The play ends with them inviting him to breakfast and to sample a glass of their elderberry wine. Characters Abby Brewster : Abby and her sister Martha have interchangeable personalities in the play. Neither exhibits distinct characteristics that are identifiable as separate from the other. Abby, like her sister Martha, is old-fashioned in an ironic sense. She appears to be a quite conservative elderly woman who values the conventions of the past. She attends church regularly and donates toys to the local Christian fund. Her traditional values, however, do not extend to her treatment of the elderly men who come to their home looking for lodging. While her desire to help the men find peace is aligned with their Christian faith, her and her sister's methods reflect modern, violent sensibilities as they resort to murder to achieve their goal. Abby is the one who gives the poisoned wine to the first of their murder victims. Jonathan Brewster : Jonathan is a vicious criminal with a penchant for torture.

Not much background information is given on him other than the details provided by Mortimer that he was "the kind of boy who liked to cut worms in two--with his teeth." He has no consideration for his aunts as he plots to turn their home into a surgery for criminals who need to alter their appearance. When Mortimer threatens to interfere, he plans on causing a slow, painful death for his brother. His pettiness surfaces when he becomes jealous that his aunts have committed more murders than he has. Martha Brewster : Martha is as ironically old fashioned as her sister. She exhibits kindness and compassion with the neighbors and follows social conventions of behavior. For example, when Mortimer breaks tradition and asks Elaine to meet him at the Brewster's instead of calling for her at her home, she criticizes him for his lack of chivalry. She also condemns the theater for its provocative subject matter and popular films that frighten their audiences. Like Abby, Martha's charity is limited by the macabre nature of the murders they commit and by their own prejudices. Abby would rather ignore the devastation of the war in Europe because it is beyond their scope.

When Jonathan arrives, Martha, with Abby's help, does everything in her power to get rid of him from the moment he walks in the door, insisting that he is too much trouble. The two also have no time for foreigners, refusing to let Jonathan bury one in their basement along with their "good Methodist" Mr. Hoskins. Mortimer Brewster : Mortimer is teasing and flirtatious with his fiancée Elaine and exhibits genuine affection for her, his aunts, and for Teddy. As soon as he discovers the dead body in the window seat, his immediate goal is to protect his aunts. He bravely stands up to his brother Jonathan at the risk of his own safety. His bravery, however, is tempered by his arrogance, which sometimes blinds him to what is happening around him. He insists that he is much more intelligent than the plays he must review and refuses to agree to Elaine's claim that they often have a humanizing effect on him. His pride gets him in trouble when he does not take the proper precautions with Jonathan, and as a result, he almost loses his life. He also proves himself to be quite excitable and does not handle the stressful situation in the Brewster household very rationally.

All ends well less through Mortimer's actions and more through coincidence and the fact that the police cannot fathom the sweet Brewster sisters could ever have twelve bodies buried in their basement. Teddy Brewster : Teddy has lost all contact with reality, completely immersed in the delusion that he is Teddy Roosevelt. This static character is used primarily as a plot device. He covers up the aunts' murderous activities as he buries the dead bodies in the basement, which he insists contains the locks of the Panama Canal. Brophy, Officer : Like the Brewster sisters, Officers Brophy and Klein are interchangeable with no distinct personalities. They help the plot develop by providing background information on the Brewster family and rescuing Mortimer from Jonathan's clutches. Brophy also provides some foreshadowing as he notes in the beginning of the play that Teddy has been disrupting the neighbors' sleep with his midnight bugle calls. Einstein, Dr. : Dr. Einstein, Jonathan's evil sidekick, is little more that a stock figure. He adds to the comedy through his alcoholic tendencies, which cause him to remake Jonathan into the image of Boris Karloff.

He also stirs up the action when he chides Jonathan about the fact that the aunts have murdered exactly as many men as he has. As a result, Jonathan decides to kill Mortimer so that he will tip the balance in his favor. Elaine Harper : Elaine exhibits a modern sensibility for a woman during this period. She is self confident, quick witted, and "surprisingly smart for a minister's daughter." She engages in witty, flirty banter with Mortimer and shows a great deal of patience with him. Harper, Reverend Dr. : Like the Brewster sisters, the Reverend Harper maintains old-fashioned values, appreciating the "gentle virtues" that have gone out of style in the twentieth century. His disapproval of the theater makes him initially wary of the union between his daughter Elaine and Mortimer. Klein, Officer : Klein, like his partner Brophy, appreciates the sisters' charity and believes them to be among the kindest inhabitants of the neighborhood. He also serves as a plot device, especially when he suggests that Jonathan looks like Boris Karloff, which sends the latter into a murderous rage.

O'Hara, Officer : Officer O'Hara distinguishes himself from his fellow officers by the fact that he has written a play. He adds to the farcical action when he leaves Mortimer tied up all evening in order to ensure that the theater critic will listen to the entire summary of his play. Source: "Arsenic and Old Lace," in Drama for Students, Vol. 20, Thomson Gale, 2005. Source Database: Literature Resource Center

Question: Who played Mortimer Brewster in the 1942 film Arsenic and Old Lace?
Answer: Cary Grant